EKLOPS: An Adaptive Approach to a Mission Planning System

EKLOPS is the Enhanced Kernel Library for Operational Planning and Scheduling. This paper discusses the area of mission planning, and present EKLOPS as a generic mission planning solution proposed by the Mission Planning Group of Anite Systems GmbH. EKLOPS has evolved from mission planning systems that were developed under contracts of the European Space Agency. It implements an adaptive object model architecture to integrate the common elements of mission planning systems. The model of a specific satellite mission is expressed as metadata, which configure the MPS. Rules implement functions of the planning process for which a number of specific roles can be identified. The paper presents a language that has so far been utilized to express constraint-checking rules. The experience made with EKLOPS is shown using the examples of the ENVISAT and Mars Express missions. The generic nature of EKLOPS facilitates an extension of its usage outside the field of spacecraft operations planning